A Thankful Team Snow

It’s hard not to be grateful when someone else’s dream vacation is right in your backyard. In the spirit of the season, Team Snow is here to tell you about all the things we’re thankful for leading into the 2015/16 winter season.

KarolynLet’s start it off with an obvious one: snowmakers. A natural powder day is a wonderful thing, but it’s the guys on-hill working around the clock that allow us to ski from October through May. They make up the base, counteract any unfortunate weather patterns, build up piles and piles of snow for the longest superpipe in the East, and almost always have a smile on. It’s a tough job, and I’m happy someone else can do it so well.

SamHigh speed lifts. We’ve got six of them, and I’m thankful every time my cold butt gets whisked up the hill at lightning speed. I’ve spent many a January day fighting the temptation of the warm lodge at the bottom, and high speed lifts are the cure to that illness. With less time between runs and more time to play in the pow, I stay warmer longer and my daily run tally remains respectable, no matter how cold it gets.

SarahLet’s go for a mountain ops trifecta. Karolyn and Sam mentioned snowmaking and lifts, so it seems only fair I should talk about the groomers! I am so grateful for our groomers every time I get to the top of Spruce first thing in the morning. A run on Risky or AmEx to get your legs under you before tackling the rest of the mountain is made only better by the zip-zip-zip sensation of perfect corduroy under your skis.

If you’re looking for ways to give back, Sunday River is hosting its annual Tin Mountain Roundup on November 21 and 22. Just bring three cans of non-perishable goods to the Barker Lodge and you’ll receive $10 off your lift ticket for the day. All of the food collected is donated to the Andover Food Pantry and will be distributed to less fortunate families in the areas surrounding Sunday River over the course of the holidays. Skiing and snowboarding feels way better when it’s also helping someone else.

The best way we know to give thanks is to celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend at the mountain too. There are full-on wicked delicious turkey dinners at Camp and Grand Ave on Thursday, superb early season conditions, and our annual Demo Days on Saturday and Sunday—where $10 gets you test runs on the latest and greatest gear of the season. That’s not to mention that spending the holiday with us is sweet as pumpkin pie (or pecan, if you’re into that) with our Thanksgiving Weekend lodging deals.